Entangled
by untapdtreasure
Summary: Just an ordinary day in the life of Carol and Daryl in the prison.


Title: Entangled  
Author: untapdtreasure  
Rated: PG-13 (language)  
Summary: Just an ordinary day in the life of Carol and Daryl in the prison.  
A/N: dedicated to Leigh57

Carol slid onto the bench beside Daryl. She kept her eyes downcast toward her plate. She discreetly slid her hand down beside her. His hand rested there. He slowly tangled his fingers with hers and gave a gentle squeeze.

She was late in getting up. She'd had a hard time sleeping with the nightmares and just the general uncomfortable feeling she had in this god forsaken heat. She glanced over at him and gave him a nod, trying to reassure him that she was indeed fine.

Daryl, concerned with her overall body language and demeanour, turned his head. His mouth was open to speak when a voice behind them had their hands parting and he managed to bang his hand on the underneath of the table. His knuckles stung, but he kept his mouth in a straight line.

"Carol, aren't you supposed to relieve Glenn from Tower Three?" Hershel's voice wasn't accusatory, just stating a fact. He seated himself at the empty bench across from the pair of them, eyes moving between them. He had a feeling he'd interrupted something.

Carol turned her head, swallowing the bite of oatmeal she'd taken. She nodded. "Running just a bit late this morning." She scooped in another three or four bites and chewed a second and then swallowed. She shrugged, giving Hershel an aplogetic look. She glanced at Daryl. "See you around."

Daryl licked his finger clean and cracked his neck. "Gotta be goin' myself. Bed's callin' my name." He had been on watch in Tower One most of the night, and he knew he needed a few hours of sleep, but he had somewhere to be first. It was long overdue.

Carol managed to make it to the watch tower in under two minutes and climbed the stairs. She knocked before entering to give the occupants time to tell her they needed a minute. Walking in on Glenn and Maggie once in the throes of passion, or lust as she liked to call it, had been enough.

Glenn opened the hatch and smiled at her tiredly. "I'm flying solo this morning. Maggie wanted to spend time helping out Beth with Judith. Apparently, she's become more of a handful now that she's scooting around."

Carol smiled and gave Glenn a nod. "Yeah. Just wait until she starts walking. She'll keep us all on our toes. Permanently." She climbed the rest of the way into the tower and stood up straight, peering around them.

Glenn let out a groan. He finished gathering his things, pulling on his t-shirt. "Guess all us kids were lil shits at one time or another, huh?" He moved back to the floor hatch, slipping his foot onto the top rung of the ladder. "See you later, Carol."

Carol moved to the front window facing out of the prison as the latch sounded, and she was left alone. She pulled the machine gun from her shoulder and laid it on the sill. Her eyes scanned the perimeter. The walkers weren't the obvious threat. Not unless they piled up more. She'd have to get a team down there to lessen the numbers.

A shudder went down her spine at the thought of the fence giving way. She wrapped her arms around herself despite the Georgia heat. The heat wasn't even at its seasonal peak yet, and she wished there was a place to take the kids swimming. If for no other reason at all but for them to just be kids again. She sighed softly, keeping her eyes open and alert.

Glenn damn near ran right into Daryl in his exhausted state. He'd been looking down, minding his own thoughts when the man's voice startled him right into dropping his water bottle. He reached for it, looking up and then frowned. "Where you going? Thought you had watch in one last night. You aren't pulling a double..." He shook his head. "Besides. Carol just relieved me."

Daryl cleared his throat, hitching up his crossbow more on his shoulder and squinting at him despite it being early morning and the sun was at his back. He shrugged. "She mentioned the door stickin' the other night. Just gonna take a look at it. See if I can fix it."

Glenn let a knowing smile slip across his face and stepped forward to pat him on the back. "Yeah. Sure. Make sure you don't distract her too much." He started to whistle softly as he moved around Daryl and kept on heading to the prison.

"Fuckin' Glenn." What did he know? He snorted softly, watching as he put distance between himself and the Korean. He then shrugged and continued on to three. He opened the door, bending as if to inspect it in case Glenn was watching him.

He heard her moving around up above him and glanced up. He stepped inside the dark, cooler staircase and hurried up the steps and pushed at the hatch. He moved up the ladder then and peeked his head through. "Only me. Hope you weren't expectin' no one..."

She turned from her place at the window and smiled then. She hugged herself a little tighter. "Nope. No one." She had wanted him to come, but she hadn't expected him to. It had been several days since they'd really gotten to talk alone. She missed it, but sometimes life just got busy at the prison, and it was just the way it worked out.

Closing the hatch, he propped his crossbow up against the wall, giving a bit of a stretch and a yawn. "Just...wanted to check in with you. Make sure you're a'right..." He met her eye then, searching them. "You seemed a bit off at breakfast," he explained.

She chewed at the inside of her cheek then, hoping that he hadn't picked up on that. She hadn't wanted to worry him. She waved it off. "Oh. Just overslept." A lie, but also a truth, too. She'd only overslept because it was nearing dawn before she had gotten the chance to actually fall back to sleep. She turned back to the window, looking out so that he couldn't see her eyes.

He watched her, keeping his distance. When she turned her back on him, he stepped forward. "You still ain't good 'nough to lie and me not know it." He touched her lower back gently and then turned her around slowly so that they were face to face. "C'mon. Talk to me."

She sighed softly and finally managed to look up into his blue eyes. They were so full of concern and love for her that she couldn't hold it back any longer. "I had that dream again. The one with Sophia..."

And then he understood. He cupped her chin for a second, letting his fingers run along her jaw until he reached her neck and then cupped the back of it as he brought her head forward and placed his lips to her forehead in a gentle kiss. Eyes closed, keeping her close, he whispered, "Want to talk 'bout it?" He felt her head shake from side to side and let out a soft sigh. "Might do you some good," he countered.

She pulled back then, looking up and into his eyes. "It's the same shit every time, Daryl. Nothing more to talk about. I just...it doesn't seem to come when you're there. That's all." She clamped her mouth together then.

What they had been sharing was new. They were still exploring the ins and outs of it. Still testing the boundaries. And yet, they slept in the same bed whenever they could arrange it, but they had yet to take that next step. Neither of them was ready yet. And that was good. It just felt right to be in each others arms.

He leaned down then, kissing her mouth softly. His lips hesitating to part and take hers with more intimacy and grace. He moved his hands down her back, cupping her ass gently as he did so. He pulled back slightly. "Tonight," he promised her in his soft husky whisper.

She smiled then, leaning up to kiss him again. It had been too long. She knew that this wasn't the point of being up in the watch tower, but if Maggie and Glenn could get away with it and so much more, why should her and Daryl be any different? She parted her lips, slipping her tongue along his bottom lip to let him know she wanted this.

He moaned softly, tilting his head to the side and kissing her deeply. His other hand moved up to the back of her head, massaging her hair and scalp. He could do this all day. He found that these were the moments when he was the most at peace.

She moved her hands up to his chest, placing her palms against it. She moaned softly. The kiss intensified, and her arms moved up and around his neck. She was slowly being pressed against the window. She smirked against his lips.

He pulled back a little. "What you grinnin' 'bout?" He kissed her again before she had time to answer, twisting his tongue around hers with an audible moan.

All thought left her head then and there. She could happily continue to kiss him until her lips fell off for all she cared. They were so into each other and the moment that neither of them heard the watch tower door below open and close. It wasn't until the hatch was being pushed up and a head poked over it that they broke apart.

Caught.

They both turned, staring wide eyed and opened mouth as Glenn stood half in the room and half still on the ladder, grinning at them like a mad fool. "Forgot my pack..." he explained, reaching blindly for it. Wrapping his fingers around the strap, he tugged it toward him and started back down the steps of the ladder. "Carry on. Don't mind me."

Both of them turned back to face one another, cheeks flushed a crimson red and speechless. They'd been so careful, and now it would be all over the prison like wildfire once Glenn Rhee opened his mouth.

She reached for his hand, tangling their fingers. "They were all going to find out sooner or later, right?" She hoped he could take this in stride and embrace it, but a part of her was afraid that this was too much, and it would ruin what they'd made for one another and for each other.

He gave her fingers a tight squeeze and a simple nod before pulling her forward again. "Where were we?"


End file.
